Residents at Old Bar on the New South Wales mid-north coast have been blocked from building a permanent sea wall to protect their properties from coastal erosion.

The group made the application after the loss of three homes along the beach strip over the past five years.

But this morning the recently formed NSW Coastal Panel rejected the bid.

"The panel wasn't able to be satisfied that the impact of the works on the beach and adjacent lands could be adequately managed," the panel's deputy head Derek Rutherford told the ABC.

"Public access, safety and satisfactory funding arrangements for maintenance and damage restoration are the key considerations for granting consent under the act, and the panel was not satisfied that these were met by the application."

Ross Keys owned two of the properties lost to the sea; one was a family home, the other an investment property next door.

"What is the value of a home if you're not allowed to protect it?" he said.

When Mr Keys bought the houses in 2000 there was a 23-metre gap between them and the beach front.

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